Kamryn's AP Blog

Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Eng 11 19 November 2016        The novel, The Sorrow of War , was a novel about the struggles of  a Vietnamese soldier named Kien. The novel told stories of love and loss and how different people cope with the aftermath. The point of view constantly shifts and is sometimes incoherent. The novel is even so witty as to have been out of order just as Kien's attempt at a novel had been. This book was a controversial, however effective portrayal of the Vietnam War. It had exceeded beyond my initial expectations as a historical novel and as a work of fiction entirely.        My initial reaction to such a grim book was pure horror. There were many unpleasant scenes within the book that had been hard to read. However, although these events were indeed horrific and graphic, they were realistic and add substance to the book. These are hard truths about the war that are taken into account in the book and not censored in any way and had to be applauded. The boo

Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Eng 11 "I love you. I've loved you since we were children. I've loved your mother and father, as I would have  if I'd been your sister or brother." Pg 136 2. Puong is characterized just as Kien had remembered her. She was the same girl from his childhood who had had fallen in love with and love him back. Phuong is shown as a softer and more likeable character in this quote. Her actual amount of care for Kien is shown. 3. The quote indicates that Phuong is addressing Kien as if she'll never see him again. Phuong has a conflict within herself that faces with Kien being in the war and facing death.

Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Eng 11 "War had been their whole world." Pg. 167 2. This quote characterizes the situation that all the soldiers were in. The war had not been a tragedy with gaps in between, but an ongoing tragedy. It had been so prevalent that it became their whole world. 1. The quote goes along with the theme of Chaos. There was nothing but war which included death and suffering along with it. Chaos was the theme because chaos is exactly what the war was to Kien.

Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Eng 11 "His life, after ten destructive years of war, had then been punctured by the sharp thorns of love." Pg. 94 5. This quote can be connected to how modern soldiers often feel like when returning home after the Bush Wars for example. Many soldiers feel that war had played a huge role in their recent divorces or relationship problems because of unhealthy coping mechanisms for PTSD or depression. War led to the puncturing of all relationships they had pre-war. 1. This quote also relates to Irony. This is because after all of the years of war and the damage it had done, it was the impact of Kien's love life that was the most damaging to him. The quote shows that death was not the only bad outcome from the war, but also love.

Kamryn Barnes Mr. Rease AP Eng 11 "Phuong, his childhood sweetheart, his classmate, his female lead in one of the strangest opening nights of the war theater, and his self- created ikon for salvation in peacetime, had left him again." Pg. 69 1. The quote relates to the theme of loneliness. Kien wishes to have Phuong as not only a love interest, but also a sign that he had not lost completely everything. However, in the end Phuong had left Kien with not so much as a note to signify her absence. 2. This quote characterizes Kien and how much he really values Phuong. It states how he viewed her as his own personal peace and stability. Kien is characterized as more of a caring and loving person.